{"id":9111,"date":"2023-11-05T15:06:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T20:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=9111"},"modified":"2023-11-05T15:06:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T20:06:12","slug":"women-will-be-joining-decatur-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/05\/women-will-be-joining-decatur-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Women will be joining Decatur council"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By BOB SHRALUKA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decatur City Council has not had a woman member since 2011, but that will change when council meets for the first time in 2024, on Tuesday, January 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new council will have at least two women on the five-member group \u2026 and there could possibly be four!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abby Wilder is guaranteed to take over the District 3 seat as she is unopposed in Tuesday’s election. The winner of the District 1 race between Democrat Jenny Bowers-Shultz and Republican Gina Melcher will bring a second woman to council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The District 3 and District 4 seats are currently held, respectively, by Craig Coshow and Wylie Sirk. They were defeated in last spring’s Republican primary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, incumbent Democrat Tyler Fullenkamp is challenged by another women, Republican Leslie Reilly-Green, for the district 2 seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Democrat Jennifer Hitchcock is seeking to take the only at-large seat from Republican incumbent Matt Dyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So two women will be on city council beginning in 2024, andz it could be three or even four, pending the will of the voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last women to serve on council was Democrat Barb Engle. She served two four-year terms before being defeated in the 2011 election by Republican Cam Collier in a race for the at-large seat. Collier served two terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrat Janet Macklin was appointed to serve the final four months of Grover Odle’s at-large term in 1999 and was unopposed in that year’s election as she secured the seat for a four-year term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mayor Dan Rickord, a Democrat, was not opposed this year for a second term, not was Republican Scott Murray, who holds the District 2 seat on council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current Utilities Director Kevin Hackman will assume the clerk-treasurer’s position in January, a post held for 26 years by Phyllis Whitright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to WZBD Tuesday night for all your election night coverage. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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